The biographical Series "Furtseva. The Legend of Ekaterina" is devoted to a detailed exploration of the life and career of Ekaterina Alekseyevna Furtseva—the only woman in Soviet history to rise to the position of member of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee and later serve for many years as Minister of Culture. Furtseva was a typical careerist, accustomed to stepping over others to get ahead. She devotedly loved the Party and had a talent for finding common ground with the highest-ranking officials, while remaining feminine, sincere, and vulnerable. The 12-episode production tells the story of Furtseva’s rise from a young weaver from Vyshny Volochyok to a high-ranking Moscow official. The Series pays close attention to Ekaterina’s personal life, the circumstances of her meetings with, love for, harmony with, problems with, and eventual separations from her husbands—pilot Pyotr Bitkov and diplomat Nikolai Firyubin. The production presents a portrait of a whole and multifaceted personality who had no shortage of either admirers or opponents. The subtitle "The Legend of Ekaterina" points to Furtseva’s undeniably significant historical role; she is portrayed in the Series by two renowned actresses—Tatyana Arntgolts in her youth and Irina Rozanova in her mature years.
